Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $17.00, but opened at $17.63. Beam Therapeutics shares last traded at $17.99, with a volume of 687,575 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BEAM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Beam Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Jones Trading upgraded shares of Beam Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Beam Therapeutics from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on Beam Therapeutics from $78.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.75.

Beam Therapeutics Trading Up 7.1%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.37 and a 200-day moving average of $23.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of -10.32 and a beta of 2.35.

Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.11) by ($0.13). Beam Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 41.07% and a negative return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $7.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.21) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Beam Therapeutics Inc. will post -4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Beam Therapeutics

In other Beam Therapeutics news, CEO John M. Evans sold 30,663 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $562,666.05. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,097,669.15. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Giuseppe Ciaramella sold 7,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $136,413.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 190,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,490,463.60. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,771 shares of company stock worth $803,198. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Beam Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Beam Therapeutics by 20.0% in the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,480,089 shares of the company's stock worth $165,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,060 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 72.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,026,701 shares of the company's stock worth $59,112,000 after buying an additional 1,273,559 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,871,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $173,256,000 after buying an additional 1,249,303 shares during the period. EcoR1 Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Beam Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,286,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Beam Therapeutics by 169.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 760,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,855,000 after buying an additional 478,491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.68% of the company's stock.

About Beam Therapeutics

Beam Therapeutics Inc, a biotechnology company, engages in the development of precision genetic medicines for patients suffering from serious diseases in the United States. It develops BEAM-101 for the treatment of sickle cell disease or beta-thalassemia; and BEAM-302, a liver-targeting LNP formulation to treat severe alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; BEAM-201, an anti-CD7 CAR-T product candidate, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma; and BEAM-301, a liver-targeting LNP formulation for the treatment of glycogen storage disease 1a.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.